The Nearness of You

Chapter 10

Livy wandered down the stairs early the following morning. She had had restless night and was eager to be out of bed and away from her thoughts.  She had run through the previous evening's events over and over again in her mind, and she was no closer to figuring anything out then she had been when she had left Declan the night before.

The only thing she was sure about was that she had seen a new side of Declan, one she had never seen before, and it made him more human. She was also sure that his kiss had affected her in a way that no other kiss ever had. Her lips still tingled when she thought about it. What she was having a hard time figuring out was if it had affected him as much as it had affected her, and why it even mattered if it did.

Her kiss with Nelson had been nice but that was all it had been. The was no excitement with him.

It still stunned her when she realized that Declan was not who she had spent most of her life imagining him to be, and she was beginning to think that Theodora was right, the man had some major secrets that he was keeping.

She wandered into the dining room and stopped short when she saw Declan sitting at the table with a plate of food, cup of coffee, and the newspaper spread before him. He looked up at her, letting his glance briefly take in her appearance, before going back to his paper. She tightened the belt on her robe in an automatic defensive action, but she needn't have worried, his glance looked mildly bored and that was all.

She was beginning to think she had imagined the heat she had seen in his eyes the previous evening. Maybe she had made the entire thing up. She walked over to the coffee pot on the sideboard and poured herself a cup before she sat at the table and reached for what little bit of the paper he had left behind. She found the social column and looked it over, pausing when she saw a photo of her and Declan. It was one that had been taken as they were leaving the party the previous evening, she hadn't even been aware that they had been photographed.

"Did you see this?" she asked as she read the short blurb that stated their names and questioned what their relationship really was, it hinted that Declan was after her money because her father's shipping business was floundering since his passing. She couldn't help the snort that escaped as she read it.

"If only they knew the truth, eh?" Declan asked as he leaned back in his chair, throwing his napkin next to his plate. "Still, it's a good photo and a good beginning."

Livy heard the doorbell ring in the distance but didn't think anything of it, knowing that Raoul would handle it.

"A good beginning? How do you figure, they're saying that you're marrying me for my money?"

"Yes, but they are at least starting to speculate that we're a couple. It was something that worried me."

"Because of the age difference?" She looked down at the photo, it was a good one. Declan's dark good looks were the perfect foil for her lightness. He made her look small and delicate and what woman wouldn't like that.

"Sixteen years is not a minor difference," he said almost to himself.

"Yes, if you were a particularly precocious young man then I could possibly be your daughter." She didn't think before she spoke and her head jerked up as soon as realized what she had said.

"I don't know whether to be amused or appalled by that statement." He stood pushing back his chair and moving to pour himself another cup of coffee.

Livy's head jerked towards the entrance of the dining room when she saw movement, she was surprised to see Nelson hovering as he looked from her to Declan.

Declan turned and looked at him as well, but didn't seem surprised to see him.

"Nelson, what are you doing here this early?" Livy asked in a rush. She wondered if Declan was thinking the same thing she was? That with her in her bathrobe they presented a nice little domestic scene and it could be interpreted all wrong.